


Are You Going?

by TemariDesertStorm



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 19:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2400014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemariDesertStorm/pseuds/TemariDesertStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Overcoming a problem involves confronting it. Sometimes confronting it is the entire problem. Sometimes the real problem is you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Are You Going?

**Author's Note:**

> The relationship between Neku and Joshua is an interesting thing. Some people see them as a couple, but in some ways, I see it as more of an intense fascination, bordering on curious obsession.

_Are you going to see him?_

The question rang around in his head the moment the words left Shiki's lips. Though she was sitting across the table from him, the moment she spoke, he found that he couldn't look at her. He wanted to bury himself in his headphones and ignore the rest of the conversation, but he didn't wear them anymore. There was nothing to distract him from her question. All he could do was sit in uncomfortable silence until the bell rang for the end of lunch and class resumed. Even when class ended for the day, he didn't have an answer.

_Are you going to see him?_

Staring at his homework wasn't helping him put the question from his mind, and he found himself growing more frustrated with every second. Trying to concentrate on math equations when his mind was wrapped around another thought was only making his head hurt. He begrudgingly threw himself onto his bed and draped an arm over his eyes, blocking out the orange sunlight that was coming in the windows. How long had it been? How long had he been wrestling with the question? Part of him wanted to go. What little pride he had left glued his feet in place every time he tried.

He had thought about going so many times that he hadn't bothered counting, but every time the idea came up, he asked himself the same question: Can I find it in myself to forgive him? There was only so much he could forgive, he figured, and being short twice by the same guy was not one of them. Being tricked, lied to, and generally toyed with also crossed a line. Neku always imagined that smarmy smile plastered across that pale face, the mocking look in his eyes, and the dry, sarcastic attitude would be waiting for him if he braved the encounter. It instantly put him off going, no matter how much nerve he worked up.

But it was ending soon. He had resolved himself to it. His last year in high school was almost over, and he was heading to a collage outside of Tokyo. Away from Shibuya. Away from those horrifying three weeks, away from the memories that haunted him in his dreams, away from the city of the Reaper's Game. Away from the city _he_ ruled. That's why Shiki had brought it to the front of his consciousness. _"Are you going to see him? You know, to say goodbye?"_

There was no escaping the conflict twisting around in his mind. Despite all the things he hated about that 'prissy little shit' (as Beat sometimes called him), there was no denying that Neku couldn't bring himself to just throw that connection away. It wasn't love or hate that lay at the center of his dilemma, but something more of... curiosity. He knew so little about the boy who had been his only friend for a week, who had seemingly sacrificed himself before confessing to starting the whole mess, to ruining Neku's life without even a second thought. Even the lies that had served as the only glimpse into his past made the hungry curiosity grow deeper. There were so many mysteries wrapped up into one being that Neku wondered how he could exist in such a state, being unknown to everything and everyone.

One single gunshot had started their relationship, and another gunshot defined it.

But he had trusted him. They were still friends, in their own odd way. They hadn't seen each other since the end of that last game, but secretly, he was hoping they would run into each other somewhere, no matter how stupid the idea seemed.

_Are you going to see him? ... So you won't have any regrets...?_

The sun had already set, but Neku pulled himself up off the bed and scrambled out the door, ignoring the unfinished work he had left behind. He didn't care that it was dark enough for the street lights to have flickered to life, or that people on the train were giving him strange looks for being in his uniform so late. The only thing on his mind, up until he hit the middle of the Scramble Crossing was avoiding making an irreversible mistake. As his feet slowed him from a run to a walk, the crowds thinning out as he headed towards his destination, a feeling of dread filled his mind. Was he making a mistake?

When he reached Hachiko, he discovered that it was far too late for such thoughts. Even in the crowd-dissected light, the familiar slender frame and posture were unmistakable. There he was, absorbed in his phone, typing firmly away at the keys before snapping it shut, his actions giving off a sense of finality.

"Joshua."

The Composer of Shibuya, the only person who could have heard Neku's whisper over the din of the crowds, put his phone in his pocket and turned in one swift movement. His face, framed by his light hair, lit up with an expression that made Neku stop dead in his tracks. There was a genuine smile, soft and full of genuine happiness, on Joshua's face, so unusual that it took a second for Neku to register that this might have been the first real smile he'd smiled in a long time. With a sigh of relief, he managed a smile in return. Looks like he'd have to fill in a different collage application...

Joshua chucked as he walked over, his usual smug laugh of superiority. "Already taken care of, Neku."

"Don't make me regret this, Josh. I'll actually shoot you this time."

Another laugh. "I'm looking forward to it."


End file.
